


Beside Still Water

by shotforthesky



Series: Malec Prompts [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 2x20 AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt, M/M, alec is affected like jace was, clary and alec are friends in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-17 03:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11842626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shotforthesky/pseuds/shotforthesky
Summary: Prompt #4: Could you write a reverse version of 2x20? With Izzy and Magnus there is Jace and with Clary there is Alec. And Valentine stabs Alec. Jace feels everything and Magnus, who is still angry at Alec, realizes that he could lose him





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> read on [tumblr](http://shotfortheskyy.tumblr.com/post/164348065194/could-you-write-a-reverse-version-of-2x20-with)
> 
> send prompts on tumblr or in the comments
> 
> I own nothing and all mistakes are mine.

“Any word from Alec and Clary?” Magnus asked, walking behind Jace who was bent over the holotable.

“No, but they should be arriving at Lake Lynn right now,” Jace replied, barely looking up when he spoke.

Izzy rushed up to her brother, hands on her hips, interrupting the brief conversation. “It’s strange, the aerial sensors show no signs of demon activity.”

Jace bit his lip before looking up at his sister and Magnus, “Yeah, there’s nothing on the ground either, it’s like the Edomi completely disappeared.”

Magnus looked at them, slight confusion on his face. “I’ve never heard of that,” Jace exhaled and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. “Once they pass through the rift, the demons are here to stay until they’re properly banished.”

Jace quickly looked at Isabelle and then at Magnus, voicing the one question they all were thinking of, “Then where the hell are they?”

\-----

Alec raced down the dirt path, head still spinning from their escape from Malachi, Clary only a few feet behind him. When they burst through the trees and bushes onto Lake Lynn’s shore, Alec clutched his bow tighter as he stopped, eyes scrunching as he realized he and Clary were the only ones there.

Where the hell was Valentine?

Clary ran a couple steps past him, eyes desperately searching for Valentine.

“Are we too late?” she gasped out, breath coming in pants.

Alec was standing at the lake’s edge, slowly turning in every direction. “No, no, if he raised the angel we’d know it. We beat him here,” he said in astonishment, “We can stop him.”

The relief was evident on his face and Clary couldn’t help but smile at him, tension bleeding out of her shoulders. They could end this.

Suddenly, Alec was grabbed from behind, a dagger slamming into his chest. He let out a grunt of pain as his eyes met Valentine’s, the latter’s hand clutching the back of his neck. He looked down at the dagger and back up at Valentine, shock paralyzing his body. He was going to die.

“Tell my son I’m sorry,” Valentine said. Those words weren’t for him, they were for Clary. “I had to.”

\-----

Jace let out a sharp moan, breath catching in his throat as pain shot through his body, radiating from his Parabatai rune.

“Jace?” Izzy asked, concern and fear in her voice.

Jace couldn’t breathe, his hand coming up to clutch at his side.

\-----

Alec was gasping, hand pressed to his chest, trying to stop the blood. Valentine had let him drop the the ground, his eyes wide. Clary was watching in horror. Valentine pulled out the blade roughly and took a step back, eyes never leaving Alec.

\-----

Izzy was watching her brother, her hands coming up to grab his shoulder and arm. “His parabatai rune.”

Magnus felt like he’d been kicked in the chest, the breath was knocked out of his lungs. Alexander.

“It’s-Alec,” he managed to say before letting out a scream.

He heard something clatter to the ground and soon Magnus was in front of him, eyes wide. “Is he-”

Jace let out another shout, legs crumpling underneath him as he collapsed to the ground, loud sounds of pain leaving his mouth as the agony grew. Magnus fell to the ground next to him, hands gripping his shoulders as Jace twisted on the ground.

“No!” Jace cried out, tears streaming down his face.

\-----

“Alec? Alec!” Clary shrieked in shock, shoving past Valentine violently to get to her friend, “No!”

Alec’s breaths were shallow, his eyes filled with tears. He was dying.

“You have to-you have to stop him, Clary. Please,” he grabbed her hand, clutching it tightly, “Promise me you won’t let him die.”

Tears streamed down Clary’s face as she nodded, “I promise, Alec. S-Save your breath, okay? You need your strength, it’s going to be okay.” Alec’s grip on her hand grew weaker and his breaths became fainter, head lolling slightly. His eyelids fluttered and his eyes glazed over, body growing slack.

“No, don’t close your eyes. Don’t close your eyes.” Alec’s eyes finally shut, his final breath escaping his lips. “Hey, no, stay with me. Look at me, please look at me. I can’t do this without you, Alec.” Sobs left her mouth as she stared at his body, once so full of life.

\-----

Jace’s screams slowly stopped, replaced by horrible gasps as he tried to catch his breath. He felt so empty. The pain was gone, and so was Alec. The familiar touch of his soul, the small warmth that he used to feel when Alec was happy. He’d never feel it again.

Magnus and Izzy waited in silence, tears on their faces. Jace brought his trembling hand to his shirt, pulling it up to reveal his fading Parabatai rune. Alec was dead.

“I-I can’t feel him,” he cried, falling to his forearm, “He’s dead.”

Magnus let out a noise of pain, strangled sob leaving him as he fell backwards off of the heels of his feet. His hands were clasped together as he pressed them to his mouth, body trembling. Black energy exploded from him, knocking over things that surrounded them. His Alexander. Gone. He would never see him again. He would never touch him again. He would never see him smile, hear his laugh, feel the heat of his body next to him. He screwed his eyes shut, hand digging into the cloth of his shirt that covered his chest.

Izzy slumped down, her forehead pressed against Jace’s shoulder, body frozen. The trio allowed themselves to lie there, the weight of the sadness weighing them down until they could finally move, Magnus summoning a portal to send them to Lake Lynn.

\-----

“Clarissa, I-I’m sorry. I had no choice. You and Jace together are too dangerous, eliminating his Parabatai was the only way to stop him, even if it is just for now.” Clary let out a shout of anger and charged at Valentine, angel blade raised. He smacked her down, fist slamming across her face. Everything went black.

\-----

When Clary came to, she sat up with a quiet groan, her hands were shackled together in front of her. She slowly turned her head to the side, praying that she wouldn’t see Alec’s body there. But there he was. Dead.

“Ave atque vale,” she whispered. She finally turned her attention back to Valentine, who was picking up the Mortal Cup. “Stop!” She shouted, causing him to turn around.

He set the sword and cup down with a smile, “Good, you’re awake. Just in time to see history being made.”

“You killed Alec, how could you?”

“I’m certain if I didn’t Jace would’ve gotten here in time to stop me if I hadn’t. Clarissa, I love Jace like I loved Jocelyn, it kills me to have done this to him. But see, Jocelyn and Alec’s deaths were necessary sacrifices if I’m going to save humanity.”

Hatred filled Clary’s chest as she spat out, “Don’t lie to me. You’ve never loved anyone but yourself.”

Valentine let out a sigh and kneeled before her, saying, “If that were true, then why do you think I’ve kept you alive?”

He got back to his feet and moved towards the Mortal Instruments. Picking up the Soul Sword and Cup, he waded into the lake. He let the sword slide out of his hand and he dropped the cup shortly after, listening to the bubbling of the water. Clary looked around, desperate to find something to free herself with.

She had to stop him.

“Raziel, hear me!”

She promised Alec.

“I call upon the Mortal Instruments and summon you into this realm!”

She had to save the Downworld.

Raziel burst out of Lake Lynn, bathing the shore in a golden light. It was horrifying. She looked back to Alec’s body, regret on her face. She couldn’t keep her promise. Her eyes locked on his thigh holster.

“Your stele,” she whispered to herself.

“It has been a thousand years since I was last summoned to this place, why do you summon me now, Nephilim?”

Clary started to crawl towards Alec, grateful for the Angel’s distraction.

“My lord Raziel, the great men and women in the lineage of Shadowhunters, which you have created here, have failed in their mission to rid this world of demon scum.”

“I see you are impatient. What is it that you ask of me?”

“The immediate death of all evil-blooded creatures, demon and Downworlder alike, as well as the disloyal Shadowhunters who protect them.”

Clary was almost to his stele, she was so close.

“The destruction of the souled creatures of the Downworld and of our own Nephilim? That is not Heaven’s wish.”

“What?” Valentine gasped in disbelief.

“But thou who spills thy blood thou shalt compel from me an action.”

Valentine let out a small chuckle and pulled a blade, the same blade he used on Alec, out of his pocket. Clary freed Alec’s stele and carefully twisted it around in her hands. She quickly drew an unlocking rune and the shackles released her wrists. She quickly moved forward and pulled Valentine out of the water before he could complete his wish. She shoved him down with a shout, carelessly tossing him to the ground as Raziel receded, his light dimming.

He let out a grunt of surprise as he hit the dirt. Valentine quickly got up and charged at Clary, who smacked the knife from his hand and punched at his face. She kept punching until he struck her across the face, sending her slamming into the ground. She pushed herself to her feet, charging again, before getting punched back to the ground. Valentine grabbed her by her jacket and slammed her down. He picked up a rock and stood above her.

“I’ve spent too long-I’ve sacrificed too much-to let anyone stand in my way...Even my own daughter.”

"No…” she breathed as he raised the rock, fully intending to smash it against her skull.

She turned her head to the side, eyes falling on the discarded knife, and she rolled to the side, grabbing it and slashing it across his throat. Valentine let out a shout of surprise as his hand flew up. Clary slammed the dagger into his neck once, twice, three times. She looked him in the eyes one last time and pulled out the dagger, kicking him to the ground. She turned towards the Angel, slicing the knife through her hand and allowing her blood to drop into the water.

“Angel-blooded one…”

“I don’t want Downworlders to die!” She cried out, “Please, you can’t let them die! I want another wish.”

“You may compel me to one action, Clarissa Morgenstern, what is it that you ask?”

If Clary didn’t know any better, she would say the Angel sounded annoyed.

“You know my name,” she said in shock.

“Concern yourself not with what I know but rather what can be. If you have a desire, ask me now. And be wise, I will grant but one.”

She looked back at Alec. He sacrificed his life. He deserves to live.

“Alec...Bring Alec back, please!”

The Angel quickly faded into a flash of angelic light. She quickly turned and ran towards Alec who still wasn’t moving.

“Alec? Alec?” He finally inhaled, air filling his lungs, his head turning back towards her.

“What-what happened? Did you stop him? Are they safe?”

She let out a laugh, smile wide on her face. “Oh my god. You’re alive.”

Alec looked around confused, eyes finding Valentine’s body at the edge of the lake. “You stopped him.”

“Valentine raised the Angel, I used the wish to bring you back,” she said, helping him sit up.

“Why-why would you do that?”

“Because you deserve to live, Alec. You’ve sacrificed so much, you’ve given up so much, it was only fair.”

Alec hugged her, shocking them both. “Thank you.”

She nodded and turned away at the sound of footsteps behind them.

“Alexander!” Came a shout, causing Clary to slide out of the way, making room for Magnus to crash into Alec’s arms.

“Magnus,” came the warm sigh of relief.

Jace stood behind them, tears in his eyes. “Alec, I thought you were dead. Our rune...it disappeared.”

Alec pressed a slow kiss into Magnus’ cheek before looking at his Parabatai. “Look at it now.”

Jace lifted his shirt, exposing the darkened rune. He closed his eyes for a second, a breath he didn’t know he was holding escaping him. Magnus released Alec and helped him stand before stepping back, allowing Jace and Alec to embrace.

“We thought we’d lost you.”

“I thought you’d lost me, too.”

The two separated and Izzy pulled her older brother into her arms, body still shaking. “Thank the Angel,” Izzy cried into his shirt, voice muffled.

He locked eyes with Clary over his shoulder and nodded to her. She smiled back. “Thank Clary.”

He felt another pair of arms wrap around them. Jace. Alec let out a laugh and freed his arm from where it was trapped and wrapped it around Jace. A hand grabbed Alec’s and he looked up to see Magnus, who had his arm around Clary’s shoulders.

“I love you,” he mouthed.

A tear rolled down Magnus’ face as he smiled, “I love you too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the party at Hunter's Moon. Alec had already experienced what Jace did in the show.

Alec was lying across the couch, clutching a pillow to his chest. Chairman Meow was curled up on his lap, purring as Alec stroked his head. After what happened at the Hunter’s Moon, Alec’s chest still ached. He had no idea what happened and it scared the shit out of him. Before he could think about it further, he heard a scream.

“Alec! Alexander!” came Magnus’ cry from the bedroom.

Alec shot up causing Chairman Meow to let out a yowl, jumping off of Alec’s lap. He swung his legs down and raced into the bedroom. Magnus had tears on his face, his chest heaving as the breaths came out in pants. Alec climbed onto the bed, hands lightly grabbing Magnus’ wrists. When Magnus locked eyes on him, he collapsed into Alec. He buried his face in Alec’s neck and Alec kissed his forehead, hand buried in Magnus’ hair as he pulled him closer to his chest.

“I’m here, I’m here,” He whispered, subtly rocking them back and forth.

“When I woke up and you weren’t here-” Magnus choked out, fingers digging into Alec.

“Shh, I’m alive. Everything’s fine.” Magnus’ tears were cold against Alec’s skin, causing him to shiver. He rubbed Magnus’ back, feeling the jerky rising of his chest.

“Alexander, I’m so terrified it was all a dream. Every time I close my eyes I see you laying there, I’m scared that one day I’ll wake up and you’ll be gone, having died at Lake Lynn,” Magnus murmured into his skin.

“I’m alive, the Angel brought me back to you. I will never-” He inhaled sharply, the wave of pain that he’d felt from earlier returned.

Magnus jerked back, eyes wide, “Alec? Alec, are you okay?”

His head was pounding, sight blurring, nausea bubbling in his abdomen along with the overwhelming agony that clawed at his chest. His arms loosened around Magnus as he doubled over. He pressed his the heels of his hand into the sides of his head, letting out a grunt of pain. Magnus’ hands cupped Alec’s face, glowing blue light swirling around him as healing energy pulsed into his body.

“Alexander? Alec, what’s happening?”

“I-” Alec couldn’t speak as he let out another groan, body twisting in discomfort. His body shuddered as the pain dulled, Magnus’ magic finally calming down his pain.

“What the hell was that?” Magnus asked, absentmindedly stroking Alec’s cheek with his thumb as he stared at Alec with worried eyes.

Alec was scared shitless. Before he’d brushed it off as an after effect of resurrection but it soon became obvious that it wasn’t. He looked back at Magnus, fear creeping into his brain as he said, “I have no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really don't know what the fuck that was
> 
> +School starts soon for me so my writing will be less often because I'm taking some horrible classes :))

**Author's Note:**

> request something or chat with me on [tumblr](http://shotfortheskyy.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I struggled to write this so whoops


End file.
